Midlatitude North Atlantic heat transport: A time series based on satellite and drifter data
Using temperature, salinity, and displacement data from Argo floats combined withsatellite sea surface height, a time series of the Atlantic meridional heat transport fromJanuary 2002 to August 2010 has been estimated for 41degree N. The calculation method isvalidated against hydrographic climatolog...
| Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Amer Geophysical Union
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007039 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/81128 |
| Summary: | Using temperature, salinity, and displacement data from Argo floats combined withsatellite sea surface height, a time series of the Atlantic meridional heat transport fromJanuary 2002 to August 2010 has been estimated for 41degree N. The calculation method isvalidated against hydrographic climatologies and output from the ECCO2 ocean dataassimilation model, and the assumptions are shown to be reasonable; the greatest source oferror is from the sparse distribution of Argo floats. The mean heat transport is0.50 0.1 PW, which is consistent with previous estimates made using surface flux databut is low compared estimates from hydrographic cruise data. Consistent with results fromthe RAPID array, the heat transport has a significant annual cycle and high degree ofsubannual variability, indicating that statistical uncertainty in previous calculations mayhave been underestimated. There is little evidence of a trend over the short period ofavailable data. Correlations with sea surface temperature suggest clear physicalrelationships between heat transport and SST, even on the short time scales of availabledata. |
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